Larry Pratt seems to be aptly named

Larry Pratt, executive director of the far-right Gun Owners of America group, recently weighed in on the aftermath of last week’s bombing in Boston, claiming that liberals were happy about the attack because it would help them in their alleged mission to expand governmental control.

Now, according to my friends in the United Kingdom…

prat n. (English word) a self-aggrandizing, pompous fuck. Someone who is full of themselves and, almost invariably, stupid as well. With a hint of ‘deluded.’

He feels that because of the bombing in Boston next week…in a blue state…that the liberals will come for his guns. Yes it is true that the older of the two brothers charged in the attack had tons of guns and tons of bullets and none of the guns was registered, seems to raise eyebrows. But to charge us with loving the bombing because we think differently than he does is a bit too much and shows us the lack of depth to his understanding. I feel sorry for him actually. I know he probably isn’t stupid, but his observations sure are. Actually I don’t see the connection, but I guess he does in his world view.

Speaking of world views and stuff…the charges that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was read today carry the death penalty. Massachusetts does not have a death penalty, the Federal government does. So what do we do? Life for a life? That’s unbalanced justice. Pro-lifers should be on the band wagon against death “by society.” This issue will come up again soon as the 19 year old begins to wander through the justice system. One lawmaker suggested torture. Think about that for a moment. Torture for what? For the sake of torture? The lives taken and forever changed on April 15th will never be “balanced” with taking the life of this teenager. There is no “closure.” The pain of loss, the pain of body and mind will take time to heal. We really never “get over” stuff we just learn to live with it. The death penalty will not change anything nor turn back the clock no matter how horrendous the crime was. As Pope Francis said a few years ago:

“Life is something so sacred that not even a terrible crime justifies the death penalty.”

I agree with him on this. It’s not a popular decision to stand with the no death penalty people, but it is the right one. We are more civilized than the lowest serial killer or bomber. We show the world that a life for a life is unequal.

It is encouraging to hear that all of the victims in hospital right now in Boston are recovering well. The picture up top is of Aaron Hern of Martinez, California (NE of San Francisco) who was seriously injured in the blast at the finish line of the Marathon. Visiting him is first lady Michelle Obama.

And as for Mr. Pratt, I guess he needs to know that he can cling to his gun like a teddy bear forever but I hope he can someday find a friend that isn’t made of steel.

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About the author

the doctor

A little song, a little dance, a little coffee down your pants...
40 years in the high school classroom and now on my own. A chance to think about stuff and how it affects everyone, not just me. Now residing in Oregon volunteering for a refugee organization.